CHINATOWN : Alpha Beta’s Plan for Plaza on Hold

Financial discussions have delayed Alpha Beta’s plans to move into Grand Plaza but the developer remains hopeful that the supermarket will be in place early next year.

The 35,000-square-foot Alpha Beta, which will be Downtown’s first chain grocery store, was originally scheduled to open in early December. But the city, the development company and Alpha Beta are still working out funding issues, which makes that opening date “very difficult,” developer David Mi said.

Meanwhile, other retailers have expressed interest in moving into the remaining 30,000 square feet on the ground floor of the complex once a full-service grocery store moves in, Mi said. Improvements such as the installation of electrical fixtures and other utilities are under way, he said, so the tenant spaces will be ready soon.

Built in December, 1991, the six-story complex at Grand Avenue and Sunset Boulevard is a mix of commercial retail space and low- and very low-income senior apartments. The $40-million project also includes a parking garage.

About 250 of the 301 apartments are occupied, according to Susan Totaro, Chinatown Redevelopment project manager.